New Delhi/Lucknow. The World Bank on Monday signed an agreement to provide a loan of about $300 million to Uttar Pradesh for the Clean Air Transformation Project. This loan will support the Clean Air Scheme of Uttar Pradesh Government. It focuses on integrated solutions to improve the air quality of the state and create employment opportunities for youth and women.

A joint statement said the Uttar Pradesh Clean Air Management Program ($299.66 million) will focus on clean air transformation in key sectors such as transport, agriculture and industry, thereby extending the benefits of clean air to other states. The statement said that around 200 new air quality monitoring systems will be installed based on data received from the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board.

The agreement was signed by Juhi Mukherjee, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, on behalf of the Government of India, B Chandrakala, CEO, Clean Air Management Authority and Secretary of Forest, Environment and Climate Change, on behalf of the Government of Uttar Pradesh and Paul Prossie, Acting Regional Director in India, on behalf of the World Bank. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said the state is on the path to becoming a $1 trillion economy because we believe that economic growth, productivity and ecological balance are interlinked.

“Through the Uttar Pradesh Clean Air Management Program, our prosperity will be measured not just by GDP, but by cleaner skies, healthier and more productive citizens, and a thriving environment that sustains our people and our planet,” he said. Paul Prossey said the program will leverage nearly $150 million of private capital in the transportation and MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) sectors.

“By investing in electric buses and three-wheelers, emission monitoring systems and clean technologies in industries, this program will help improve the productivity and growth of companies, as well as provide more employment opportunities to the young men and women of the state,” he said. Talking about the program, he also said that it will provide clean cooking facilities to 39 lakh families and convert more than 700 brick-kilns to resource-efficient technology.